63 



the slope in this same vicinity and two bergs were found fairly close 

 inshore near the 100-fathom contour. It was believed that these 

 two bergs were part of a group of six last seen on the 26th instant, 

 and Figure 24 shows quite clearly their direction and rate of move- 

 ment. The fact that they were observed to be drifting southward 

 at 1.2 knots per hour agrees, moreover, almost exactly with the calcu- 

 lated rate determined by the density observations. We drifted near 

 the inshore and southernmost berg the night of the 31st at the rate of 

 1 knot per hour to the southward, and thus ended the month. 



Summarizing for May, we estimate a total of 153 bergs were south 

 of Newfoundland (forty-eighth parallel), or 23 more than for a 

 normal year. The most striking feature with reference to the distri- 

 bution of the bergs was the complete absence of any ice during the 

 entire month around the Tail of the Bank where the presence of 18 

 bergs is normal. The southernmost berg for the month, if we disre- 

 gard the report on May 15, which was considered erroneous, was the 

 berg observed on the 31st instant in latitude 45° 04', longitude 

 49° 54' or, no in other w^ords, no berg was sighted within 200 miles of 

 the United States-Europe steamship lanes during the month of May. 

 This all tended, of course, to concentrate the ice on the northern part 

 of the Banks where it gravely endangered steamships bound to and 

 from St. Lawrence ports following the Cape Race tracks. 



JUNE 



The first two days in June were foggy, but in spite of this fact we 

 sighted a small berg on the northeastern slope of the Bank. The 

 next two days we spent on the current survey, but on the 4th instant 

 we again sighted the berg last seen on the 1st. It had drifted south 

 very little during the interval of three days and now was just south 

 of the forty-fifth parallel. As the berg was apparently in the dead 

 water on the Bank and consequently showed slight indications of 

 drifting far from this spot, we left it again scouting northward for ice, 

 and during the next three days searched the continental slope all the 

 way to the forth-seventh parallel and westward to Cape Race. June 

 5, a Sunday, we sighted four bergs on the slope on the northeastern 

 edge of the Bank and the next day located a total of 30 bergs dis- 

 tributed along the northern slope, the greatest number being found 

 near latitude 47° 50'. This area has been inclosed on Figure 26 and 

 labeled accordingly. 



The Modoc assumed patrol duty on the 8th instant and immediately 

 stood eastward, intending at first to search between the forty-seventh 

 and forty-eighth parallels, just north of the area which the Tampa 

 had recently covered. Fog and low visibility, however, modified 

 these plans to a considerable extent, and so we were obliged to steer 

 a straight course offshore to the edge of the slope. A few bergs, 



